Wind power gets political

Wind turbines from RMS Energy are seen on Dalhousie Mountain in April 2010. Nova Scotia municipalities are all over the map when it comes to regulating wind power projects.(TIM KROCHAK / Staff / File)

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second part of our series on the debate over wind energy.

KENTVILLE — Some municipalities in Nova Scotia are struggling with wind energy while others are clamouring for it.

In the absence of provincial regulations, municipalities are responsible for setting their own policies and land-use bylaws when it comes to regulating the wind industry in their districts.

And that’s the way it should be, municipal leaders say.

“The process in Nova Scotia leaves the autonomy for local planning with the municipalities,” Warden Lloyd Hines of the District of Guysborough said in an interview.

“I think that’s wise because it’s not a flat landscape. Each community has its own desires, particular needs, unique features and so on.

“However, at the end of the day, the province has the final say. Provincial governments have the right to overrule planning decisions taken by municipalities, and that has happened.”

It happened last year in Kings County when Agriculture Minister John MacDonell overturned council’s decision to rezone 152 hectares of farmland for development in Greenwich, near Wolfville. Farmland is protected under the county’s zoning bylaws, and it’s also listed as one of five provincial “statements of interest.”

“So the province does have autonomy over these kinds of decisions,” Hines said.

His municipality wants to be the first in the province to build and own a wind farm in partnership with Nova Scotia Power. The project was recently registered for an environmental assessment.

“As far as the province coming forward with uniform regulations around planning matters, whether it’s wind, industrial development or coastal setbacks those are decisions best left to the local community,” Hines said.

“We live in a democratic process, which makes elected councils so important to our communities, because the onus of the decisions rests with those people who represent them.”

Although there are no provincial regulations, the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities developed a model wind bylaw and policies on best practices to serve as guidelines. It has also been hosting various workshops.

“I believe municipalities should have the ability to determine what’s appropriate for our communities,” said Jimmy MacAlpine, president of the UNSM and deputy warden for the District of Digby.

“That’s one of the mandates of municipalities, and that includes wind turbines and the siting of them.

“To have one bylaw for the entire province just wouldn’t work. What works in one community may not work in another.”

MacAlpine’s county spent 16 months working on a bylaw for large-scale wind developments. It eventually decided on setbacks for wind turbines of 1,000 metres from existing homes and 750 metres from vacant property lines.

“We felt that would be appropriate to protect the landowner and the residents and still allow development to take place,” MacAlpine said.

The municipality is now home to a 20-turbine, 30-megawatt Nova Scotia Power wind farm.

“I support wind power if it’s done right,” MacAlpine said.

“If you’re looking at having development in your community, you have to weigh it all out. As elected officials, we’re there to represent the people and you try to do what’s best for the community and you do have to take seriously the direction from the community.”

Dick Killam, a Kings County councillor, is opposed to a large-scale wind energy development proposed for the North Mountain in his area. Municipal council voted Tuesday to put a halt to wind development while it studies the issue.

“If you had provincial regulations, the people would not have a say in the type of development they get in their communities,” Killam said.

“They’re having a heck of a time in Ontario because municipalities are not given a say.”

The provincial government there has set standard policies and a setback distance of 550 metres.

“The province jammed it right down their throats and now they’ve got lawsuits and all kinds of problems because of provincial regulations that override any municipal ones.”

Killam said every community should have the right to decide the type of development it wants. He said wind farming may not be a good fit for Kings County, the third-most densely populated municipality in Nova Scotia.

And if the Dexter government were to override Kings County council’s decision, it “would be a slap in the face to people in the communities who have fought so hard against it,” Killam said.

He said the wind energy industry puts huge pressure on councils to push projects through.

“At least we can put the brakes on this and take a good, hard look at it and make some good decisions,” he said.

“At the end of the day, there may not be a place for them in Kings County.”

Other municipalities like Digby, Guysborough, Cumberland and Shelburne counties are looking for wind energy projects to help bolster their sagging tax revenues.

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Comments(10)

That is what the province and all municipalities should be railing against. Any partnerships should be with companies whose interests are in direct competition with NSPI.
Why would any community ever consider allying itself with that monopolistic company, giving it even more power and control over the economic futures of Nova Scotia's residents?

I've got a good idea how the provincial government can use the woodlands currently owned by Bowater. The government can simply expropriate these lands and then use them as graveyards for all the companies that have gone under in NS due to the high cost of electricity charged by NSP, and due to the economic and business iniatives put forth by Dickster.

The Municipality of the District of Shelburne (MoS) has an abysmal record in sound business decisions and fiscal management. Their support of SWSDA, and two shady land deals top the list - legal woes continue.

Now we have CANWEA parasites and council promising COMFIT will fill our coffers and provide jobs.

There will be few permanent jobs created.
CANWEA members' tax breaks and subsidies simply shift the tax burden and costs from their companies to us - the taxpayers and NSPI customers.

The winners in the wind scam are IWT owners, and a few ignorant landowners who lease their land after signing binding non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements.
Homeowners near these sites will suffer losses anywhere from 30-60%.

Wake up and small the coffee folks - wind energy is expensive, unreliable, and non-dispatchable - reality bites.

Article said "...“They’re having a heck of a time in Ontario because municipalities are not given a say..."
Actually, wind power without storage makes no sense whatsoever in Ontario. There is a nearly-complete mismatch between availability of wind and the system demand. As a result, wind is displacing only a trivial amount of coal generation; and after we've increased wind capacity from current 2000 Mw to planned 9000 Mw there will be serious grid-management issues; Ontario's CO2 emissions could actually increase as wind forces a reduction in CO2-free Nuclear and hydro with a corresponding increase in natural-gas-fired generation.
Wind makes more sense for Nova Scotia since, whenever available, it will always displace coal,if you are willing to pay the high price. The setbacks are a critical issue. Sound and inaudible infrasound are highly dependent upon many factors, and should be expected to affect some but not all homes, and not under all conditions. A thorough understanding of this, including measurements within homes, is essential. Ontario's government, bureaucrats and the industry have been stonewalling on this for years. Ontario claims to be a leader - avtually Ontario is a laughing stock.

"Wind makes more sense for Nova Scotia since, whenever available, it will always displace coal, if you are willing to pay the high price." - ontario guy @9:57

Wind energy will never displace natural gas or nuclear energy, let alone displace coal sir.
Nova Scotia cannot afford further out-migration due to its high taxes, increasing NSPI rates, and continuing job losses.
Wind energy will continue to fill the pockets of CANWEA members and NSPI, while the commoners pay its steep cost in more ways than one.

Last time I checked there was this incredibly massive ball of energy in they sky that is quite reliable - like clockwork. If any politician was even half genuine about sustainable energy, we'd all have solar panels on our homes by now. But then how would NSP throw their great parties?

Foolish bantering from Kings County. Sounds like a Mini Me version of Halifax Council which is paid to make decisions but resorts to a continued string of studies.

Digby has them in place at a distance of almost 30 football fields away from the nearest home. I wonder how far away the local pig farm,chicken farm and Michelin Plant is from residental living space ? Would you rather have a highway in your back yard ? What about giant transformers just off your property ?

The more we move away from fosssil fuels the happier i will be and they can build all the wind turbines they want right in my back yard if it means being 30 football fields away. After that if people want to take a financal risk on the property value of building new homes closer let them.

I find wind turbines much more pleasing than clouds of grey black smoke, coal piles, polluted lakes and toxic waste ponds. Honestly it would be great if Nova Scotia could build a whole industry out of developing new sources of renewable energy. We certainly have the Universities in place to attract graduates to a growing high tech industry. Call centers are not growth industies but renewable energy and waste disposal are.

If we "buy" back the Bowater lands it is the end of story. They have something like 220,000 hectares of land out there. Most of it in the middle of nowhere and much of it accessible by old logging roads. Buying that land is such a no brainer.